Reaper of the Leaf
by jjeffreys2k19
Summary: Reincarnated into Nara family during Kakashi-era. How will he deal with the Kyubi attack, Uchiha massacre, and the Fourth Shinobi World War? Will he stick with the cannon, or will he try to change as much as possible? OC SELF-INSERT ORIGINAL SIDE STORIES.
1. Chapter 1

Ch.01: Life, Death, and Rebirth

Her name was Yae Nara (奈良八重). Wife to Shonosuke Nara (奈良ショウノスケ), a branch family member of the Konoha's famed Nara clan. Like most members of her clan, she too is a shinobi and reside in the shinobi village of Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village. However, she was not always a Nara, nor was she a shinobi. Her story is one of many pain and sadness.

She was born to the head of the Yamamoto (山本) clan. Yamamoto clan was a powerful clan situated in Fire country during the warring states period; equal in strength to that of Senju and Uchiha. Yet, unlike them, this clan was not of shinobi, but of samurai. However, ever since the formation of the shinobi villages, samurai clans all across the continent, including the Yamamoto clan, began to dwindle. What drove the final nail into the coffin for the Yamamoto clan was the First Ninja World War. Daimyo of the Fire country took notice of the power of shinobi, instead of the destruction they brought. Slowly, the funding from the Daimyo lessened, and without their support, samurais were reduced from noble warriors to simple bandits. It was during this dark time that she was born.

Tragedy struck her even before she was born. Her mother died during childbirth, before she was still in her womb; meaning that she had to be cut out. Her father, instead of being relieved that at least his daughter survived, was bitter that his beloved wife died and the cause was not even a son. It was not unheard of a woman becoming the head of a clan, yet because of her father's bitterness and hatred towards her, he chose to let the clan die rather than training her to become the next head. She spent the next ten years, the entirety of her childhood, being verbally abused and/or neglected by her father. Perhaps, it was the natural order of things, or because of her father's brainwashing, it wasn't long at all until she began to believe that she can never be happy and that she shouldn't become happy. During that time, she went on numerous suicidal missions for her dying clan, perhaps wanting to rid herself from the cruel life she was forced to lead. One of these missions, was the infiltration and sabotage of Konohagakure. At that time, she could never have imagined that this ridiculous mission will put an end to her suicidal tendencies, and completely shatters her belief that she could never attain happiness. This was when she met Shonosuke.

Time flew by fast. By the time she realized, already a decade has passed. She had completely abandoned her mission, happily married, and was a shinobi of the village she was sent to destroy. She had freed herself from the bond of her clan, yet the road to finding happiness was not so easy. First few months after she arrived at the village, she was in 'custody' of the T&I, the Konoha Torture and Investigation Force. They of course, tortured her for information. But, the physical pain was nothing compared to years of abuse she endured from her father. Once they realized that she was unaffected by pain, they took a different approach. Even if they are the T&I, they are still Konoha, and in their infinite kindness, or perhaps naiveness, they decided to give her therapy. She was confused at first, not having experienced such kindness in her life. She thought that no interrogation or torture could ever get her to reveal any information. Yet, there she was, talking until she was hoarse, craving this new found kindness.

Once the T&I was sure that she was sufficiently Konohafied, she was allowed to live within Konoha as a civilian, with certain travel restrictions. This way, even if she was still loyal to her clan, she would not be able to send information back. She remained under constant surveillance from the Anbu, the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, even after she was released, and probably will remain under surveillance for a long time.

Getting married was not an easy process either. Even if Shonosuke was of the branch family, he was still of the prestigious Nara clan. When he announced that he will be taking Yae as a wife, he was met with fierce resistance. The verbal argument between him and the clan continued for several weeks, and it heated to the point that there was a talk of expelling him out of the clan. In the end, seeing that Nara clan's infighting could weaken Konoha, it was the Third Hokage who ended the fight; with simple words of wisdom.

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

It needed not be said that she had to work hard, to gain the trust of the clan. Once she became a Nara, she was taught to use ninjutsu. She chose to mainly focus on iryo-ninjutsu, medical technique, and fuin-jutsu, sealing technique. Mostly to avoid any more suspicion by learning any offensive techniques, thinking that this also may cause trouble for Shonosuke as well.

The thought of childbirth terrified her. Part of the reason was that she didn't want to be like her mother, not being able to spend time with her child. But, what terrified her more was the thought of Shonosuke becoming like her father. She also imagined about all the things she couldn't do with her mother. To ease the pain, she thought about many things; some happy, some dark. The pain was overwhelming, but she was happy. Soon, she would be a mother.

Sound of crying filled the room, as the sensation of pain was replaced by an overflowing joy. Followed by a voice of a nurse announcing it to be a boy. But, as always, life was cruel to her. At that moment, the nurse's eyes widened and blood dripping out from the mouth. The cause, quite visible, as it pierced through the nurse and the baby she was holding.

"Traitor."

A deep voice, full of hatred, echoed through the room.

"NO! No." Yae cried.

Shonosuke, who only a moment ago was holding his beloved wife's hand, jumped out to engage the assailant. His kunai, clashed against a sword. No, not just any sword, it was a katana. There was no doubt, the assailant was a samurai, one capable of infiltrating all the way to the Konoha Central Hospital. He knew instinctively, that this enemy was strong, most likely stronger than him.

He was angry. The happiness he had built within Yae over numerous years, this samurai shattered it in a second. But, he couldn't let his anger consume him. He was a Nara, he had to stay calm during battle, and ensure victory. A simple strategy came to his mind. Drive him as far away from Yae as possible, all the while making as much commotion as possible. As soon as he finished brainstorming, he put the plan into action.

Yae rolled off the bed, and crawled towards her now soundless, motionless baby. Up until now, she was afraid that she might not make it through the childbirth, but she never imagined that it was the baby that would die.

"Why…" She cried. She crawled desperately, yet at every step of the way, pool of blood hindered her advance. Her hands slipped, unable to get a good grip to propel her forward. It took about a minute for her to reach the baby; though for her, it felt like hours.

Once she got a clear sight of her lifeless baby lying in front of her, all energy and strength she had until a moment ago, seemed to dissipate right out of her. She simply sat there; defeat, dejection, hopelessness, all apparent in her expression.

No, she refused. She refused to be the one to be left behind, again. Anger finally flared. She would not simply sit there and let her father and his clan win. She won't let him cause her any more suffering. She won't let him cause Shonosuke any more trouble. There was still a chance. A chance to 'heal' Shonosuke and her's happiness.

During her study of fuin-jutsu, she came across a certain forbidden jutsu, created by the Second Hokage. She knew the Konoha's reputation of being kind and she had experienced it first hand, so she naturally assumed the Second to be as kind. Which piqued her curiosity, as to what made this jutsu was forbidden. Given her status as an outsider, simply peeking at a forbidden jutsu can land her right back in T&I, but she simply couldn't resist the urge. Saying that she was horrified was an understatement. The technique was of pure evil and immorality, incomplete but seemingly flawless. Her instinct told her to ignore its existence and forget that she ever laid her eyes on it. But, her logical side saw the potential. She studied in secret, learned to cast it, and modified it.

She quickly formed the seal, putting all of her chakra into it. She was afraid. This was the first time she tried to cast the jutsu. She didn't know whether it would work; it might work and she could die, it might not work at all and she could die. But, none of that mattered. She neither bothered to think about the future, nor did she care; she may have been married to one, but she wasn't a Nara.

"Please come back, Shinji (シンジ)." She placed her hands onto the baby and cast the jutsu.

"Meido Tensei (冥土転生, Otherworld/Underworld Reincarnation)"

* * *

His name was Shinji Kato (加藤真志). It was a nice sunny morning of March. He was walking down the street with a batch of comic books in each of his hands. He was happy and sad at the same time, it was truly an odd feeling for him.

He was happy, because he has just finished the grueling exam wars (AN: For those who are unfamiliar with Japanese or Eastern culture, 'exam war' is a struggle of graduating student to enter into a prestigious establishment.) and he was victorious. Starting April, he will be an university student. He will finally be able to cast away the shackles of high school and, in the eyes of society, can be recognized as an adult. What made it even better was the fact that his crush will also be attending the same university.

He was sad, because the university was far away from his house and he had to move into a dorm. Which meant that he couldn't bring every little childhood memories with him. Why? His parent's were strict, they now saw him as an independent adult and had no intention of playing storage keeper. So, here he was, carrying all volumes of Naruto, heading towards a secondhand bookshop to sell his treasure.

It happened so fast. He saw his crush walking across a crosswalk with some friends. He also saw a truck in the background, heading towards the crosswalk. Something was wrong, the signal for the traffic was red, yet the truck showed no sign of slowing down. He dropped the books and dashed. He had confidence in his sprinting ability, and surely enough, he made it just in time. He slammed into the group, with his arms extended, pushing them out of the path of the speeding truck. He realized the moment he made contact. He screwed up.

He never would have imagined that binge reading his treasured manga through the night could come back to bite him like this. He misjudged, miscalculated, his momentum, his strength. He didn't take into account the degradation of muscles that had been occurring for the last half year, as he had spent every waking moment sitting in front of a desk, waging war. He could have realized this. If he had just properly slept. He could have chose to tackle them, instead of choosing to cushion the impact with his arms. If only his mind was clear…

Alas, it was too late now.

It hurt. She wasn't expecting to be suddenly shoved so forcefully, especially in the middle of a crosswalk. She had hit the ground hard. Not only that, but because the forward momentum of the push was hard, she slid as she made contact with the ground, scraping her, hands and knees. She was surprised to see that it wasn't only her, but her friends had also been pushed. She decided to face their assailant. For all she knew, the assailant could attack again, if not, at least she could get a look at the assailant's face. She was surprised. It was Shinji. She knew him, she knew that he liked her, she knew that he was kind, which was all the more reason to be surprised. She had to admit that she was playing 'hard to get', but for him to lash out like this, she was disappointed and angry. Whatever his intentions were, she wasn't about to take this violence lying down. She made sure that her anger showed and was about to reprimand him. She thought he may retaliate, but he simply stood there, smiling at her, with a hint of sadness. Then, she saw it, the reason why. Guilt gripped her, regret followed. Oh, how wrong she was. He was always gentle and kind, there was no way he would resort to violence for such a petty thing. She reached out to him, but he was gone; where he was a second ago, there was only row of tires.

He instinctively knew that his mistake would be fatal. At least he was able to see her before he would die. He saw her beautiful face, and the expression of surprise she wore. He saw the injury she sustained from his action and saw her expression turn to anger. He understood; under any other circumstances, he would simply look like a creep that can't express affection properly. He smiled; he wanted to give her a happy last impression, he did not want her to remember him as a bloody and crippled corpse that he will soon be. He saw her expression change, into that of sheer horror. Then, he felt it. The unforgiving force that shattered his arm, broke his ribs, and cracked his skull. He was knocked off his feet, squished against the front of the truck, gravity tugged him and sucked him beneath the truck, clothes and skin ripped and shredded by the asphalt pavement, and finally freed from the truck and the remaining momentum rolled him for several more meters.

He saw a single white and puffy cloud floating in the clear blue morning sky. The pain coursed through his body. New and exciting university life awaited him, there was still goals he hadn't achieved, he had dreams and ambitions, he still had so much to live for. Yet, he felt no grief, no regret. ' _At least it was me, and not her._ ' He thought. He saw something obscure the sky. Oddly enough, he recognized it, more oddly 'it' was very much fictional. He wanted to observe it more closely, but the injury never gave him the chance. He slowly fell into unconsciousness.

'It' loomed over his still, unmoving body. It had a scowling face resembling that of an oni (Japanese demon). It's fierce eyes unrelentingly bore into him, scanning him. It's translucent arms, covered in black marking of dots, lines, and tomoe, extended towards him.

* * *

The samurai was indeed strong. The difference in equipment didn't help either. Shonosuke was only armed with a kunai and several shurikens. The samurai on the other hand, was armed with one meter long katana, not to mention the thick yoroi (samurai armor) he wore. Only advantage Shonosuke had over the samurai was his ninjutsu. However, that required time to form hand seals, which the samurai had no intention of giving. Fortunately, Nara ninjutsu needs only one seal. He made a jump backwards, consecutively throwing the kunai to halt the samurai from advancing. As soon as he touched the ground, he formed the rat seal. Shadow shot out to capture the samurai. The samurai noticed the jutsu, but being in a corridor prevented him from dodging. Shadows connected, yet before Shonosuke could act, the samurai pumped his chakra into the katana. The katana glowed as chakra covered it; then it flashed and sparked. The intense light emitted from the lightning affinity chakra disrupted the shadow, releasing the samurai. Shonosuke immediately threw his shurikens. Which turned out to be a mistake, as the shurikens bounced harmlessly off the samurai's armor, leaving Shonosuke unarmed. The samurai charged.

"Kage-Kubishibari no Jutsu (shadow-neck binding technique)."

A young yet commanding voice rang throughout the hallway.

Shonosuke looked over the samurai. There, with one knee on the ground and hands forming the rat seal, was the main family's prodigy, Shikaku Nara. His plan worked. While letting his kunai clash against the samurai's katana, he made sure to make as much noise as possible. Behind Shikaku, he also spotted the couple of Anbu units, which he knew as Yae's surveillance.

Shadows in the form of hands stopped the samurai's movement, wrapping around and up one of his legs, continuing up to the torso, where it split into two. One of which wrapped around his right arm to disarm him, the other proceeding up to the neck. In response, the samurai began to feed chakra into his katana again, making it glow.

"Not happening."

The light surrounding the katana abruptly dissipated, as it fell to the floor, together with a severed arm. The Anbu units that appeared with Shikaku were able to observe how Shonosuke's Kagemane no jutsu (影真似の術, Shadow Mimicry Technique) had been dispelled and thus were able to anticipate the move. When the sword began to illuminate, they shunshin-ed (瞬身の術, Body Flicker Technique) themselves right next to the samurai. One of which unsheathed the tanto (短刀, short samurai sword commonly utilized by ninjas), and proceeded to cut off the flow of samurai's chakra to the katana. The other jabbed a karate chop into the back of samurai's neck, knocking him out. As expected of the Anbu, the speed in which the criminal was apprehended, was quite fast. Seeing that the samurai was subdued, Shonosuke quickly made his way back to the room.

He came into the room at full speed, slamming open the sliding door. He was worried. He knew that Yae was physically strong enough that childbirth won't have any ill effect. But, her mental health was a completely different story. Knowing her life, he worried that losing the baby would break her. This is why the sound he heard surprised and confused him. Cries of an infant was filling the room. As he entered the room, Yae looked up to meet his gaze. In her arms was the crying baby, seemingly unhurt. It was odd, she was not familiar with medical ninjutsu, especially not the kid that can fix an piercing wound. But he didn't want to question it. He was just relieved; and more importantly, Yae seemed happy. That's all he cared about.

"Look, Shinji's fine…" Yae spoke weakly, seeming from a chakra exhaustion.

"Shinji, hmm. Good name." Shonosuke responded, making sure to sound reassuring.

A moment later, Shikaku came into the room followed by couple of medic-nins.

The samurai was apprehended by the Anbu and was sent to the T&I. Shonosuke hoped that one good thing will come out of this ordeal and Yae would be cleared from surveillance.

* * *

This is the story of how the 'boy out of world' came to be and how he will learn to live in this new world, to survive and become the one feared as the 'Reaper'. Let the journey begin.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.02: New Life and the Distant Memory

My name is Shinji Nara.

I am a resident of a ninja village, called the 'Konohagakure'. I was born to the branch family member of the Konoha's prestigious clan of Nara.

Or rather this is the life I have now.

Well, let me explain. I wasn't always called Nara nor was I always a resident of Konoha. Previously, my surname was Kato, and I lived in a town called Nagabusa.

Now, you must be thinking, 'your mother must have gotten remarried and moved'. If only that was the case, things would be so simple. The confusing part? I was 18 when my former life ended, and now, I am three. And, when I said 'ended', I meant 'died'. I have a pretty vivid and painful memory of it too.

I am quite confident to say that In my previous life, I was one of the most intelligent high schooler in all of Japan. Probably the reason why I was reborn as a Nara. So, utilizing my intellect, I came up with few possibilities that could explain this bizarre situation. One, I survived, but in a coma, having a vivid dream. Two, at some point in my life, I was placed in a full-dive VR system like the Matrix. Three, reincarnation.

At first glance, most likely case is the first one. However, dreams tends to be whacky, with blurry images and noncoherent chronology. This world on the other hand, clear visuals and chronological as the real world should be. Given that the world I am currently residing is fictional, the second case is quite possible. Well, if it is the Matrix. Any other computers though, the technological level of the previous world was just not high enough to be able to create such a flawless simulation. that would be able to like this. So, that leaves only one possibility left, reincarnation. I have reincarnated into a fictional world. I know it sounds crazy, but if you assume that Kishimoto is a supernatural being that can peak into alternate dimension/universe, it makes perfect sense.

Well, however I got into this world, I really couldn't care less. You see, I wasn't actually born into this world with all my memories intact. In fact, none at all. On the bright side, this actually had the benefit of, one, me not having to endure inside an unmoving body for a year, and two, me being an real baby and not raise any suspicion with unusual intellect. Memories begun to come back around two. Starting with my name, age, and how I died. It took me a while to cope with this new information, especially the memory of death. From then, I was bombarded with constant stream of memories. Beginning with basic things like the language. Then, it was mathematics, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus. Thankfully, more useful stuff like physics, chemistry, and biology, also came back. It was only few weeks ago that memories of entertainment that I used to enjoy, came back. It was at that point that I realized this was the 'Narutoverse'. I suppose it's only natural that entertainment comes last. Even now, more and more memories are coming back. However, what I haven't yet to recall, are the memories of my family, friends, and possibly love interests. I supposed, it was this lack of information that has not given me the motive to go back to previous life, and making me accept this new life.

It may sound odd that a two year old kid knows things that are only taught in high schools, and it is, but in this world of ninja, no one seems to be all that surprised by it. Simply identifying them as just another prodigy. When my father, Shonosuke, discovered my talent in algebra, he went around the clan compound, bragging that his son was as good as Shikaku. Which, was quite inaccurate. My intellectual ability comes from years of grueling school, so it can hardly be called a talent. Shikaku on the other hand, was a natural. Also, by the time he was my age, he was also proficient in shuriken and kunai.

That, is what you call a genius.

Now that I had time to organize my thoughts and identity, it is time to decide what to do with my new life. From my age difference with Shikaku, I can tell that I am with the Kakashi generation. Which was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing, because it meant that I will have more time until the Infinite Tsukuyomi crisis, giving me the chance to become strong enough to contribute to the fight against it. It was a curse, because it meant that I had to survive through the Third Ninja World War and the Nine-Tails Rampage.

Obviously the approach with the biggest chance of survival is to lay low and avoid conflicts as much as possible. After all, the story ended just fine without me. However, this plan has one problem. In order to avoid conflicts, I had to remember the entire Naruto story, in detail. Which meant, 700 plus chapters, several movies and OVAs, not to mention the anime's filler episodes. I have good memories of them now, but to retain them for over 30 years, was clearly impossible. If degrading memory was the problem, then I can simply act before I forget. If I were to take this approach, I will have to intervene as much as possible, by dealing with the enemies and other cause of chaos before they become a problem.

What a pain in the ass my life will be. Whichever approach I take, I will have to become strong.

Fast.

* * *

I was awoken by the creaking of door being opened. I heard the footsteps passing by my bed towards the window. A moment later, my eyes were scorched by the morning sunlight, eyelids useless against the piercing rays.

"Rise and shine! I know you're awake."

This routine was usually done by my mother, Yae. However, today, it was done by a familiar young male voice. ' _Hmm? Why is Shikaku here?_ ' I thought.

"Come on, don't be troublesome. Today's your big day."

It certainly was. Today is the 18th of March, the day I died and the day I was born; and today, I will become three. Age of three is an important age for kids in shinobi clans, as this was the age when enrollment into the Academy becomes available. If I wanted to become strong, and I did, this was a must.

"Hmm… How do you know?"

Just because three year old kids in this world can do algebra, didn't mean they weren't still kids. So, I had to suppress my urge to utter the stereotypically teenage response of asking for 'five more minutes'. And while I'm at it, why not ask about how he knew that I was awake. Thus the response.

"Sorry, trade secret."

Figures. Ninjas are so secretive, they won't even teach a simple technique to his own relative.

"If I told you, you would try to counter it, and it'd be even more troublesome."

Ah, nevermind. His reasoning is far more petty than I thought.

Shikaku left the room, once he saw that I have gotten up. I walked over to the closet, as I thought about what to wear. Once I got to the closet, I facepalmed, as I realized that concept of fashion don't apply to three year olds. I quickly changed into a simple beige knee-length cargo pants and white t-shirt. I opened the door to leave the room, and I was surprised to see that Shikaku was still in the hallway, waiting for me.

"I forgot to tell you. My dad's here too."

"Oh."

Geez, Shikaku! Are you trying to sabotage his impression of me? If I knew that, I would have changed into something more presentable. His father is the head of the Nara clan, after all.

As I made made my way downstairs, I simulated through several different ways of asking for enrollment into the Academy. I am pretty sure that my father would definitely agree. Most Nara, if not all, go through the Academy, even if they don't become a ninja. The problem was my mother. She might want to teach me herself, passing down Yamato clan's techniques. If I can get strong, I am fine with learning kenjutsu, but it would be really cool to be able to use ninjutsu.

"Morning."

I announced as I entered the dining room. I decided to act casually like I always do, and tried to pretend that I didn't notice the clan head. As long as they think that Shikaku forgot to mention him, I can get away with this casual attire.

"Good morning to you too."

An old and wise voice came from across the dining table. That must be the clan head. I looked up to meet his gaze.

"Today, I came here to discuss an important matter with you. Please, do sit." He continued, pointing to a chair, across from him. I obeyed.

Something important, he says. What time is it? 6:30? Give a kid some break, I'm not fully awake, you know.

"How would you like to be enrolled into the Academy?" He asked.

That is what you call a rhetorical question. Wait a minute, did he just say 'enroll into the academy'? Huh, this certainly makes things easier.

"I was thinking of asking my parents about that sir." I responded. Trying to sound intelligent to impress him, and at the same time, making sure I still sound like three.

He looked pleased. "Well, that makes things easier." _That's my line._ "Then, it's decided. The entrance ceremony is on the first of April. Don't miss it." He finished, as he got up to leave.

I zoned out at that moment, my mind caught in his last words. 'Don't miss it', heh? I can feel devious thoughts filling my brain. Ohh, I won't miss the ceremony, but I definitely will be late, and I certainly won't let Obito be the first one with ridiculous tardy excuses.

When I realized, everyone had disappeared from the dining room. I quickly got up and made my way towards the front door. Along the way, I hear my mother's voice, offering the clan head breakfast, followed by his voice refusing and complaining about summons and whatnot. He was also saying something about filing papers, and my father thanking him for the trouble. I reached the front door a moment later. Only to find that the clan head had already left.

"About that breakfast..." Came a voice from behind, startling the three of us.

"Sure, but don't you need to go with your father?"

"Not at all, ma'am. I was told to show Shinji around town. Getting him things needed for the Academy along the way."

With a relieved smile, Shonosuke stepped forward to shake his hand. "That would be very helpful. I'm really busy this month, being a gate guard and all."

"Yay!" I piped up. Trying to sound childish and innocent.

God, I wanna grow up. This 'acting like a kid' will become a serious pain in the rear, I just know it. But, this is good. I haven't had a good look at the village since my memories came back. It's about time I did a detailed, compare and contrast of this world and the previous one.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 03: Observation and Shopping

"Well, this is the Academy."

Shikaku announced, spreading his arms for dramatic effect.

The Academy, formally known as the Konoha Ninja School, is the most prestigious academic establishment in all of Fire Country. This is where kids from all across the country, come to learn the way of the shinobi. The curriculum is set up to take six years in total, which consists of condensed version of primary education, plus several courses in chakra and nin-tai-gen jutsus. However, with high enough grade and approval from teachers, grade skipping is permitted, and to some extent, encouraged. This makes time of enrollment and graduation completely arbitrary. The earliest age at which enrollment is permitted is three. However, almost all students that enter at this age, are children of clans and other significant ninjas. Most chooses to enter at the age of six; same as the civilian school. Or so Shikaku proudly explains, as he guided me around the compound.

The Academy is most often referred to and imagined as a single building. However, in reality, the term 'academy' is used to describe a conglomeration of buildings. Shikaku guided me around three of the more recognizable buildings. The academic section, where actual classes are held. The exam/test tower, where graduation exams and other important tests are finally but definitely not least, the administration tower, a.k.a. the Hokage tower. This was a real surprise. I had always suspected that the Academy was near the Hokage tower, but I never suspected that they were in the same compound.

"Oh, hi there Shikaku."

As we were approaching the Hokage tower, we came across a chunin, or so I assessed from the light colored flak jacket he's wearing, with an oversized backpack.

"Sensei. Good timing. This is Shinji." He said, putting his hand on my head. "He'll be attending the Academy, starting this April." Ah, my guess was right. I didn't recognize him though. Probably by the time Naruto was in the Academy, he's probably either retired or dead.

"I see. I hope to see you there." He said, squatting down to look me in the eyes. "Although, I teach the course about chakra, so it might be a while till we'll see each other again." Interesting, he might be useful to get to know.

Shikaku smirked. "Don't be so sure now, sensei."

"Another promising student?" Sensei's eyes widened in a pleasant shock. "I'll certainly look forward to teaching you, Shinji-kun."

Oh great, If I was a real three year old, I wouldn't have noticed this, but that Sensei's expression just now, wasn't that of teacher simply being happy about a student. It was something closer to a coach of a losing team finding an ace material. Magnified by several times.

"So, sensei. I want to teach him about chakra early on. Do you have a textbook you can give him?" Shikaku asked, though I get the feeling that he already knows the answer.

"Why, yes I do." The teacher rummaged around his oversized backpack and presented me with a string bound book labeled 'chakra-gaiyou (チャクラ概要, Introduction to Chakra)'. "It's 50-ryo, by the way."

I quickly retracted the hand that was reaching for the book, my stinginess reacting. "Nevermind then."

Shikaku laughed as he presented the amount to the teacher. "Don't worry about it. I'll pay." How nice. "And, I'll charge your father later." How evil.

"Okay." I said, grabbing the book and proceeded to bury my face into it.

"Thanks, sensei." Shikaku lightly bowed. "Alright, let's go. We still have stuff to buy." He urged.

"Hmm, kay." I responded half-heartedly, as I already had my attention deep in the book.

* * *

Chakra.

Is the mysterious energy, that resides in each and every person of this world. Although, reading this textbook, it may not be as mysterious as everyone makes it out to be. From what I can gather, chakra is just another form of energy, another form of potential energy, meaning that it can neither be created nor destroyed, only converted. For example, whenever, wind release jutsu is performed, chakra gets converted into kinetic energy. Similarly fire release converts chakra into thermal energy. This theory certainly makes sense, and it's hell of a lot more believable than simply explaining 'because of chakra'.

Chakra, of course, can also be used without the conversion into other forms of energy. This is done in one of two ways. First, is in the form of generic jutsus. Such as bunshin (分身, clone) and henge (変化, transformation), as these are created by literal lumps of chakra. Second, is the use as artificial muscles and nervous systems. Bodily enhancements and chakra strings are example of this. By directly applying chakra to certain parts of a body, that parts ability and its interaction with outside world can be enhanced. Example being, higher jumps with application of chakra to leg muscles, and tree/water walking by increasing surface tension. Most ninjas become able to do this with practice. However, it is those that are able to do this naturally, that are considered prodigy. The reason people are not freaking out at kids that can do algebra, is because it is assumed that they are naturally enhancing their brains with chakra.

"If you can be smart, just by putting chakra into your brain, why doesn't everyone do it?" I casually threw a question towards Shikaku across the table.

Shikaku looked up, with soba noodles hanging off from his mouth. "Really? Studying is a good thing, but come on, this is lunch time. You're suppose to enjoy the meal, and you haven't even touched your soba noodles." Shikaku responded with a long complaint. Huh, I was half expecting him to act like Shikamaru and brush off the question by saying 'too troublesome'.

He sighed and began to explain. "People unlike us, has to channel chakra into the brain manually. That means it will be inefficient and won't be able to maintain it for long. More importantly, brain is ramming chakra into it could cause sever damage."

Thank you Shikaku, for that detailed explanation. So, with high enough chakra production and with carefulness, it is possible to enhance intellect too. Good to know.

I returned my attention to the textbook, and flipped to the next chapter. 'Chakra Production'; _Oh, how convenient_. I scanned briefly through the chapter, and one thought immediately came to mind. 'This is seriously weird.'

As it is explained, chakra is the combination of physical and spiritual energies. The first component, physical energy, is produced by each and every cell of the body. Different type of cells have different amount of production; the muscle cells being the biggest. Therefore, it is said that the fitter you are, more chakra you can generate. The second component, spiritual energy, is actually better understood as mental efficiency. It is the product of electrical impulses running through the neurons. The more efficient the connection, the higher the spiritual energy produced. This is why studying, meditation, and practice is said to increase chakra.

In theory, those with huge muscles and incredibly smart people should have the most chakra, and everyone should strive to be as such. Yet, no such ninjas exist. Those with muscles, like the Might family and Raikages, tends to be rather dumb, and those with the brains, have less muscles than an average civilian carpenter.

So, my obvious conclusion is that it's impossible, or pretty darn close to it. Which, kind of make sense, given that there are only certain amount of time in a day. Looking at Guy, you could tell that he has to spend most of his day just training; so probably logic applies the other way too. Which means that you either perfect one, or half ass both.

Another conclusion, is that they can, but chooses not to. Chakra is weird in that it requires both mental and physical energies, but they don't need to be proportional. As long as both are present, chakra can be molded. If I remember correctly, this unbalance is the difference in Yin and Yang chakra. And again, this textbook doesn't go much into explaining it. If certain jutsus were easier to cast with this unbalanced chakra, then why bother try to achieve perfection in both physique and intellect, when you can just perfect one and move on to working on a jutsu.

Uh, whatever. Chakra is weird, period. I already knew these things anyway. The academy better teach something advanced. Otherwise, the first few years would be so boring. Anyway, to more interesting topics.

* * *

"Dude, you gonna order?"

Menu was suddenly shoved between my eyes and the textbook. Fair enough. It's been several minutes since Shikaku and I occupied a table in this restaurant. And all this time, I had my face buried in the textbook. I put it down, and took the menu off Shikaku's hand.

"What the!"

The words on the menu almost gave my three year old body a heart attack. Well, I think it's about time I rant about 'language'.

First, the spoken language. Just like in the anime, the language here is modern day Japanese. I did expect this, so it wasn't much of a surprise. Also, it saved me from the pain of learning a whole new language. But there was another thing, that was also in the anime which, I should have but, I didn't expect. That, was the loanwords, the borrowed words, or the foreign origin words.

I had to check the textbook again. And there it was; 'Chakura kontororu (チャクラコントロール, chakra control)'. The English originated word, blatantly present in a world where England doesn't exist. Not to mention the word I found in the menu; 'pan (パン, French originated word for bread)'. Should I also mention that if Narutoverse is based on feudal Japan, then bread shouldn't exist in the first place?

Nextly, the written language. Naturally, it's also Japanese, but it's an odd mix of modern and pre-Meiji (pre late 1800s), as if it wasn't complicated enough already. Japanese have three sets of writing forms, Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Hiragana and Katakana is exactly the same except for the shape of the character, and these could be used to write complete sentences, though it is impractical. Kanji is the Japanized Chinese characters. Unlike the other two, Kanji alone cannot be used to write complete sentences, unless you are a noble from the 15th century.

In modern Japan, these three forms serves specific purposes in each sentences. Hiragana, for one, is used as articles and conjunctions. Kanji, is used for nouns and verbs. Lastly, Katakana is used for any and all loanwords. However, in Narutoverse, the purpose seems to differ. Kanji seems to take more prominent role. Instead of using Katakana for loanwords, phonetic equivalent Kanji are implemented. Which, is very resembling of Meiji period Japan, and unnecessarily difficult. So, where does the Katakana go? To the first names, apparently… Take a look at mine for example. In my previous life, my name was written as 真志, but now, it's simply シンジ.

Now, that I was able to rant, I can finally concentrate on 'deciphering' the menu. Geez, what even is '貯古齢糖氷菓子 (chocolate ice cream)' anyway. It's like trying to read Chinese.

Hahaha… I can see Shikaku, dying of starvation, from the corner of my eyes. "I'm not sure. I think I'll have the same thing as you." What else can I say? I didn't know what the menu says, and if I try to read it, it'll take hours.

* * *

Back on the street again. I can't believe that I actually spent all morning reading a textbook. Because, first, it's a 'textbook' of all things, and second, it seems that everyone and their brothers have come out, which completely crowded the streets and shops. I guess people's aversion to waking up early applies across universe.

"Fight! There's a fight!"

A random guy shouted from an area that was particularly crowded.

Well, great. That does not help at all. In fact, it has managed to creating an even bigger crowd, which is now working as an unnecessarily effective roadblock.

"Shinji, wait here!" Shikaku commanded, ready to wade into the crowed.

"Huh?"

Really, Shikaku? Leaving a three year old kid alone in the middle of a street seems like a good idea to you?

"Can't guarantee that."

He looked annoyed for a second, and facepalmed. "Right. Stick close." He sighed.

We made our way towards the center of the crowd, Shikaku using his authority as a ninja to push people out of the way, and I simply used my small stature to sneak past. The fight was between two men, one in the late teens and other is around late 30s. Around them, was about three meters of clearing, then the crowd surrounded them. By the time we reached the clearing, the fight had mostly concluded, with one guy on top of the other and pounding the daylights out of the other.

Shikaku surged forward, and grabbed the hand that was raised for another blow.

"Enough, you're causing a traffic jam."

Even if Shikaku was a ninja, he is still 13. And the guy he was trying to stop is around late 30s. Of course, his warning was ignored.

Shikaku sighed. "Must you be so troublesome? Shadow-mimicry."

The fighter's movement ceased. "What!? You're ninja?" He gasped, as he was forced away from the other fighter.

"Yeah, and you're under arrest."

It could be said that it's not entirely the fighter's fault that he ignored Shikaku's warning. Nara clan has a dangerous habit of not wearing a forehead protector; which civilians uses to identify ninjas.

"Shinji, how's the guy he was pounding on?"

"Um… Bad?"

Yeah, no shit me. The guy's a complete mess. His face is bruised and cut, with swelling so bad that I can't locate his eyes. I'm sure he has lost most of his teeth. I can actually see some littered around the ground.

"Right, call the medic."

'How?' was my first question. But, asking for a method was a bit of a pain and waste of time, so I simply decided to use the only method I knew.

I breathed in as much air as possible.

"MEDIC!"

The crowd silenced completely, giving me weird looks in the process.

"Who the hell told you to be so archaic." Shikaku gaped, looking quite embarrassed. "Use a public phone booth or something."

'Public phone booth'!? I'm not entirely sure whether to call that advanced or ancient. Even in the previous world, I haven't seen a phone booth outside an airport or a Superman movie. So, naturally, I didn't expect Narutoverse to have them. It certainly wasn't in the manga, I'm sure. Although, given that there are power lines basically everywhere, it's not far fetched to think that phones exists.

"Ah, nevermind. Here comes the police."

The Konoha Military Police Force. The law enforcement bureau composed of Uchiha clansmen, created by the second Hokage, with the purpose of segregating them. My brain automatically searched my memory of any information about them; which came out mostly empty. Which wasn't a surprise. By the time of Naruto, it was gone along with the clan. It did urk and disturb me that there were things that I don't know, in a world I am so familiar with.

"Alright, alright, break it up."

Tall dark haired figure landed soundlessly at the center of the crowed. "Anyone care to explain what the hell's going on?"

It seems that in any world, people just

don't like to be around authority. The crowd quickly dispersed, choosing to ignore the KMP officer's second comment.

"Thank you for reporting sir." Shikaku approached the officer. "There is someone in need of immediate medical attention."

The officer scanned the scene. By this time,the crowed had completely dispersed."Hm?" He raised an eyebrow as he located a figure that was standing motionlessly. "Ah, you're Nara." He pointed. And letting his finger follow the shadow, he pointed to the figure. "So, is that who I'm supposed to arrest?"

"Um… yes." Shikaku responded weakly, taken aback by the officer's utter unenthusiasm in the matter. "About that medical..."

"Yeah, yeah," He interrupted, and moved towards the assailant. Sending a glare my direction, he continued. "I heard the kid. Damn, he got some lungs. My ear is still ringing from that." Ha, my method worked!

The officer, seeing that the assailant's hands were already tied, grabbed him by his arm. "You can let go of the shadow now." He waved to Shikaku. The shadow detached and retracted, and then the officer was flattened.

"Sorry for being late." Where the officer stood a second ago, was now occupied by another. This one was shorter and was blonde haired. With him were two medics, who immediately begun to attend to the victim.

"Oooooi, where are you Tokushi-senpai." The blond officer called out, while jumping up and down. "Wow, the ground here is squishy." He smirked, and looked down. "Oh, there you are. What are you doing down there?"

The first officer, named Tokushi(トクシ), glared up to meet the blonde officer's gaze. "Why you! That was on purpose, wasn't it! Never mind, don't answer that. I know it was on purpose!" Tokushi jumped up, knocking the blonde officer off balance, and proceeded to grab his shirt.

I saw the assailant take advantage of the commotion and leg it.

"So, I see the loser, but where is the winner?" The blonde officer questioned in full grin. This guy… I can tell that he knows that the assailant ran, but asking the question just to irritate his superior.

"Huh, what are you talking about, Sou. He's right here." Toshi turned around and pointed to empty space. "What the!"

I extended my arm and pointed to the assailant, who was now 100 meters or so away.

"Souta, get him"

"Eeehhh"

"What do you mean 'Eeehhh'! It was your fault!"

With a large sigh, the blonde officer, named Souta(ソウタ), took out a kunai, with a red edged paper slip, and threw it.

Um… Was that just me, or did that paper tag have a 'baku(爆, explosion)' character on it.

A second later, my question was answered by a bright reddish-orange flash and a loud bang.

* * *

That was way too much excitement for a single day. Especially for a high schooler from a different world. I mean, if this is ninja's normal life, I might seriously rethink my decisions.

"How troublesome." Shikaku sighed. "That was the Uchihas. They're extremists, if you are ever near one, you should becareful." He continued in a serious tone.

Hmm. If you ask me, they were more playing around, then being extreme. It may be interesting to befriend one.

Shisui maybe, or is he born yet?

* * *

AN: I apologize for the sloppy ending, but this chapter wasn't advancing the plot at all, so a quick end was desperately needed. Another thing I found, I'm not really good with writing in first-person. I'll probably return to writing in third person from the next chapter.

As always, I would appreciate advices and criticisms.


End file.
